This invention relates generally to a water control conduit (i.e. drain and drain systems) adapted for installation in surfaces requiring water dispersal, and more particularly to a water dispersing conduit that is capable of being adjustable in height relative to a surrounding surface elevation. Rainfall, irrigation, spillage from a pool or fountain, or pressure-cleaning of a walk way or access way surface, such as a patio, sidewalk or driveway, results in deleterious pooling of water. Pooled water can create slip hazards and if allowed to remain for protracted periods, can result in loss of integrity in the surface's structure and propagation of molds, mildew, bacteria and insects. It is therefore desirable to include into a surface exposed to possible water pooling a dispersing conduit which allows for removal of water from the surface and to an area where it may be better managed (i.e. sidewalk gutter, storm drain, irrigation return).
Water dispersing conduits used to facilitate drainage from cementitious decking are known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,888 to Stegmeier, hereby incorporated by reference in full, teaches a drain used to facilitate drainage from swimming pool decking through the use of polymer plastic drain device. The drain is comprised of an elongated channel placed within the cementitious matrix and the drain is formed of a bottom wall and parallel spaced apart upright sidewalls terminating at their upper distal ends in a grate retaining profile. Adapted to overlie the channel is an elongated apertured grating having continuous skirts downwardly depending from the longitudinal edges thereof. The skirts are inserted within the retaining profile of the channel in a combined friction and spring action enabling the grating to be removed and replaced as desired.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,729,795 to Dahowski, et al., is directed to a drainage conduit having a channel with longitudinal grooves formed in the profile of the channel walls. A separate grating top having longitudinal skirts with a similar groove profile to the channel walls is slid over and into the grooves of the channel to maintain the grating top and channel in appropriate relation. The grating top and channel grooves exhibit a single mating surface, and thereby the top and channel attain a singular relation to one another.
Both of the cited prior art teach to water control conduits having the ability to exhibit a single total height as measured relative to the top of the grating and to the base of the channel. A single height water control conduit is problematic, particularly where a surface elevation either changes or transitions from a first surface substrate to a second surface substrate. German Published Patent Application 202005007662 to Schneider and Austrian Patent No. 500204 both attempt to address this issue by use of a third device between the channel and the grate such that the total height of the drain can be altered between two different heights.
A further problematic issue in water control and drainage exists when the walk way or access way is refurbished with an overlay of individual units such as bricks, pavers or stone. Such individual units are typically placed over an existing durable surface and thus precludes the actual embedding of a drainage conduit channel into the durable surface directly. To address this issue, attempts have been made to add retention elements to the base of the drainage channel to prevent the drain from displacing out of the new surface comprised of individual units. Particularly practiced embodiments of such retention elements include flanges which extend out and away from the base and under the adjacent individual units. The use of a flange type extension has met with limited success as the added height imposed by the flange under the individual unit causes the edge of the unit directly adjacent to the drain to rise, creating an elevation increase which prevents complete evacuation of the water and a number of angle induced voids around that individual unit.
There remains an unmet need for a water control conduit that is adjustable in height so that the drain may be used with same or differing surface elevations, is easy to adjust in height without special tools or skills, does not include additional pieces and is suitable for use with a diverse variety of walk way and access way surfaces for the dispersal of water.